1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.2.
Place all of the ingredients, including bananas in a blender or food
processor, and blend until oats are smooth. {I added the oats a cup at a
time and blended in between}3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

They were pretty good right out of the oven. I highly recommend eating them while they are warm.

Some suggestions on the original recipe post were to top them with Nutella, banana slices, or peanut butter. We just ate them.

The texture is a little different from muffins that contain flour. Not bad, just different.

January 30, 2013

So, this probably seems like a really weird combination. I thought so myself at first, but I was very eager to try it given my love of sweet potatoes.

I didn't follow a bit of instructions on this recipe that I found because I was thinking it would be a good lunch for the girls. I think they liked it ok.
My way:
Bake a large peeled and cubed sweet potato at about 400 degrees for around 40 minutes--until soft
Drain and rinse a can of black beans
Place (smear for the kiddos) the sweet potato cubes in a tortilla, top with black beans and mozzarella cheese. I added a little chopped onion to mine.

Very delicious and filling. Next time I'd like to try it with the roasted peppers and cilantro. Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs.

January 29, 2013

This is seriously so delicious! AND SO EASY! Steve and I LOVE Mexican food. I put it on the menu once a week. This is one of the new recipes that I have been wanting to try from Pinterest. It was a HIT!

The pin I found noted that these were like Taco Bell's Mexican pizzas. I'm not sure I totally agree with that statement. I do love a Taco Bell Mexican pizza though.
I precooked the meat without any seasoning so I could use the leftovers to make lunch spaghetti for the girls.

Recipe:

3-4 large whole wheat tortillas, or enough to cut out 12 small circle--I used plain ole flour ones AND I tore them in half and "swooped" them around the muffin cup.

1 cup lean ground turkey, cooked (ground beef for us)

1/2 cup salsa of choice (I used Pace Picante.)

2 teaspoons dry taco seasoning (I made my own using this recipe--leaving out the crushed red pepper flakes.)

Start by laying each tortilla out individually on a flat
surface, and use an empty can, glass cup, or cookie cutter to cut 3-4
medium circles out of each wrap....or tear them like I did.

Press each wrap circle into muffin tin using your fingers. (Note: it doesn’t have to cover the entire side of the tin, it should just fit snuggly!)

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ground meat, salsa, taco seasoning, and refried beans. Stir until well combined.

Scoop 1/8th cup of meat mixture into each wrap.

Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

They are a little crunchy, which I love. The toppings stay on the tortilla when they are removed from the muffin tin. I topped mine with a dollop of sour cream. I think Steve added more salsa and jalapenos to his.

January 17, 2013

I made a goal to try at least one new recipe each month this year. We can really get in a rut over here when it comes to dinner: hot dogs, tacos, pizza (such healthy choices...), repeat! Now, don't get me wrong. I love hot dogs, tacos, and pizza, but it will be nice to have more variety in our menu.

I pinned this recipe some time ago. Aside from pizza, Steve would probably say bacon is the greatest food on earth, so this seemed like a great one to try!

It was SUPER easy. I modified it a little because I didn't pay attention to the cook time...4 hours-oops. Here's the original recipe:

Sunday Chicken

skinless chicken tenderloins wrapped in bacon and then top with a mixture of cream of chicken soup and a cup of sour cream. Cover with foil and bake at 225 for about 4 hours. Then remove foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

I didn't have a cup of sour cream, so I used about a 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt. I wrapped the chicken tenders and placed them in my 9x13 Pyrex bowl. Then I combined the soup, sour cream, & yogurt in a mixing bowl. It was really thick, so I added milk--just a little at a time until I like the consistency. I'm sure I added salt and pepper too.

I covered the pan with aluminum foil and baked it at 300 degrees for eh...2 hours? 2.5 hours, maybe. I then removed the foil and let it cook a little longer. It smelled SO good.

I served it with roasted red potatoes, spinach, and green beans. I think it would be really good with rice. We will do that next time.

I was very surprised and pleased with how it turned out. I kept telling Steve it was so delicious. He agreed, but did not feel the need to comment on it throughout the whole meal like I did. The chicken and bacon were tender, easily cut with a fork. And the flavor was yummy.

January 15, 2013

Romans 8:3-4
"For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit."

January 7, 2013

I have purchased a total of four toys since the girls have been born. Two little bug car things for their Christmas stockings this year, a stacking ring toy, and a "put the blocks in the hole" bucket thing (that is totally the technical name for that toy!).

I am thankful that there are people in the girls' lives who want to shower them with love, attention, and occasionally gifts.

I know some people who ask that toys not be given to their child/children as gifts. I get that. BUT I also get that gift-giving is a love language. I suffer from a bit of this myself. I
don't want to deny someone the opportunity to give a gift if that is truly something he/she loves to do. To my friends and family: Please do not ever feel obligated to buy my children gifts. You are more than welcome to attend a party/event empty-handed! No judgement passed here! seriously.That being said, we have a generous amount of toys to work with. Steve and I considered donating some items, but we decided against that at this time. The majority of the toys in our den were given to the girls either in September for their birthday or just in the last few weeks for Christmas. It didn't feel right to get rid of new toys. The amount of mess being created each day was getting out of hand, so we came up with a plan. We decided to divide the toys up and allow the girls to play with a certain group of toys on certain days. When we started cleaning and organizing the toys, I became SO overwhelmed. I could then only imagine how over-stimulated the girls could feel surrounded by so many options. Let me say this: we have good toys. We have building blocks, alphabet cubes, stacking cups, babies with bottles and hairbrushes, a kitchen and its contents....all good, educational/developmental-minded stuff. Regardless of how much good we have, I imagine that an overwhelmed baby is not going to benefit much in such a cluttered, busy environment.

So divisions have been made. All parts are back in the correct containers, buckets, bowls. We even weeded out some toys that we are too, ahem, advanced for. :)
I tried to put items together that would make for a fun play experience eg. babies, bottles, purses, bracelets, hairbrushes, and extra baby clothes all in one bucket. After fussing over this for a bit, I realized that the girls are 16 months old-it doesn't matter. Most days Holland walks around with a play hoagie from the kitchen as a telephone.

So we have groups of toys. Some items have been barricaded behind the ever so lovely gated area of the den. Some I put in a plastic tub in the laundry room. I don't have a schedule or really a plan other than at the end of the day, trade one bucket/basket/tub for another. They will get 4 books each day in addition to a small variety of items. Some days I'll take the drawer out of the kitchen that is filled with utensils, pots, and food and put it up. Some days they will have noisy/musical toys. Other days there will be finger puppets and push toys; or the bus, farm, and airplane filled with Little People.

Hopefully this will cut down on the mess while giving the girls a more meaningful play experience. It's not much of a plan, but I feel like it is a good start. The teacher in me is eagerly awaiting the day when we can have full-on centers! :)

January 3, 2013

New things going into effect around here for 2013:
1. At least one new recipe a month
2. One new dessert/sweet or breakfast item each month
3. Scripture memorization with Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team
4. Salads for lunch during school weeks
5. Run
6. Read through the Bible using my church's plan

I'm toying with these ideas:
No fast food
No clothing purchases
Reading a book a month
Blogging a picture a day here